


Seeing Stars

by trinityrenee



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Bodyguard, F/M, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Protective Ben Solo, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey has Imposter Syndrome, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:53:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23877226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trinityrenee/pseuds/trinityrenee
Summary: Rey Niima is the latest contestant to win the title of Galaxy Star, the singing competition.  Her popularity with the viewers for her raw and uncut vocals and her broad range made it a guarantee that even if she hadn't won, she'd make it big on her own and land a record deal. But since she did win, she's busy working on her debut album and also planning a country-side tour set to begin as soon as her album releases.She didn't think she had anything to worry about when it came to fans. Most of them were respectful and, since she'd moved to L.A. to work on her album, a lot of people hadn't recognized her yet. When an unfortunate encounter with a fan who was a little more aggressive than she was used to, Resistance Records hires a bodyguard to go with her everywhere.  She hates the loss of freedom, but at least he's quiet and doesn't bother her too much. Except he's also one of the most handsome men on the planet.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 51





	1. Rey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, yes, I am here toeing into the world of fanfiction...again. This won't be super long but I do have a plan for this and I also plan on seeing this through to the end. This is based on a prompt that I found on Tumblr literally forever ago and I'll try to find it if I can and link it if I do find it.
> 
> Anyway. Rey has Imposter Syndrome and it's going to be a theme that is present throughout this fic. Giving you fair warning now.
> 
> Also. This chapter deals with implied (mild) sexual assault and implied past sexual assault. If you'd like to avoid reading this, please scroll down to the end notes for which parts you'll want to skip.

Rey had never once imagined her life would go this route. She was Nobody. A foster kid stuck in a system that didn't give a shit about her, flitting from family to family until she was finally old enough to get emancipated. And even then, it wasn't like she had much of anything going for her. She'd still been a nobody. No friends, no family. No one.

Except then she'd moved to the United States on a whim and found herself in Colorado, where it was green and beautiful and  _ alive _ . She hadn't gone to college - she hadn't even actually finished secondary school because  _ what was the point _ \- but she worked at a cafe and made friends. Actual, real life  _ friends _ who cared about her.

Rose had been the one to shove her into auditioning for Galaxy Stars, the singing competition where the judges didn't actually see you at first and just picked you on your voice alone. Rose had promised to audition, too, if Rey would. Finn had driven them the eight hours to Kansas City.

And that was where her life had changed.

Whether or not it was for the better remains to be seen, but Rey is still half-convinced this is all a crazy dream.

Because she had won the competition, the title of Galaxy Star, and launched from being a Nobody, to being a Somebody and she still doesn't know how she feels about it. Grateful, of course, to have been picked. But also guilty, like she's fooled all these people into thinking she's someone who she's  _ not _ . She doesn't think she deserves any of this.

Which is why she always tries to talk to her fans - _ and since when does Rey Niima, the Nobody, have fans _ \- and hang out with them when she has time. She wouldn't be where she is without them. Even though she's in L.A. now, working on her album, and there are enough people around not to recognize her immediately, there are still those that do. And Rey tries her best to always make sure they get as much of her time as she can afford.

Which, in hindsight, she should have realized would get her in trouble at some point.

It's not her fault that a fan got handsy with her, though. Not her fault that he was larger than her and stopped her from getting into her car. Not her fault that she'd only been trying to get lunch when she got assaulted.

At least that's what Rose and Finn keep telling her.

She's just lucky that one of the patrons in the diner had called the cops and came up to defend her. The guy had run off before the cops came and Rey had said she didn't want to press charges. She doesn't want to be the famous person mired in court cases over fans who were just...excited.

Rey wasn't even going to tell anyone, but then the tabloids had gotten word and, well, now everyone knows. Rey isn't sure she's much of one for this fame thing.

She supposes she shouldn't be surprised when she's asked to come and speak with her manager when she gets to Resistance Records on Monday morning. It's been five days since the incident and Amilyn hasn't really said much to her beyond apologizing and making sure she doesn't want to press charges.

Okay, so that's a lie. Rey has just been avoiding Amilyn's calls and texts and just giving non-committal answers when asked if she's fine or if she needs anything. Rose says she's in denial. Rey just wants to get past this and forget it happened. It's not like it hasn't happened before, after all.

When the elevator doors open to the 14th floor of the building, Rey is already prepared to laugh things off. Amilyn's assistant nods her ahead to the wall of glass windows that makes up the offices of the various managers and other executives that work on this floor.

Rey ignores the bubbling feeling of nervousness when she sees a large man dressed in black leaning against one of the walls in Amilyn's office. Instead, she smiles and breezes into the office with a confidence she doesn't quite feel and ignores the looming, almost dominating presence of the stranger. Or tries to, at least.

"Rey! It's so good to see you, I hope you had a good weekend?" Amilyn starts, gesturing toward the chairs set in front of her desk. Conscious of the presence of the very large tree of a man, Rey takes a seat and tries not to chew on the corner of her mouth.

"It was good. Finn and I went shopping for Rose's birthday," she answers. If she acts like everything is fine, then it will be.

Her manager nods, smiling at her in that perfect, friendly way. "Good, good. Tell her I wish her a happy birthday." Rey smiles and nods back.

"I will. You wanted to see me?" she prompts, still hyper aware of the man that is leaning against the wall like a statue. She can feel his gaze on her and Rey can't decide if she wants to snap at him for it or just have the floor open up beneath her and swallow her whole.

Amilyn claps her hands together, oblivious to Rey's inner turmoil over the vaguely-threatening man. "Yes. I wanted to make sure you were okay." When Rey opens her mouth to insist that  _ yes, Amilyn she is  _ absolutely _ fine thank you, _ the woman holds up her hand to stop her.

"I know, I know. I'm fussing and I'm sure you're tired of everyone asking you. It's just that we care about you, Rey, and want to make sure that you're safe." Rey holds in her sigh as she smiles and nods again.

"I know, Amilyn, thank you. But really, I'm  _ fine. _ It hasn't even crossed my mind once," Rey insists for what feels like the millionth time. Her manager doesn't look like she believes her. Which, honestly, she probably shouldn't because Rey has definitely thought about it if only because everyone keeps bringing it up. She hates the way that her sudden fame has made everyone hyper-aware of everything that happens to her.

"Right. Well. In any case, because your safety is our number one priority here and your album is due to come out soon and then your tour after that and all the press in between, we've decided to hire you a bodyguard."

Rey blinks. Surely she didn't hear that right. Rey doesn't need a  _ bodyguard _ . She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself and just because a fan got a little too handsy  _ once _ doesn't mean she can't. Her brow pinches together a bit as she opens her mouth to protest but, again, Amilyn holds up a hand to stop her.

"It's standard practice, dear, and after what you've been through, it only makes it more important to us that you're protected and safe. You're our newest contract and it wouldn't do to leave you unprotected. Everyone in this profession has bodyguards," Amilyn explains. As if that makes any of this any better. Well. Maybe it does. If only because it means that Rey isn't being treated special for any reason.

So she swallows her argument and nods instead as Amilyn waves a hand to the man still leaning against the wall.

"I'd like you to meet Ben Solo," she says, and Rey finally allows herself to turn her head and look at him. Actually  _ look _ at him, not just size him up as a potential threat. And oh _ no. _ He's attractive.

He's still leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest. A black button up shirt covered his torso and arms, the seams straining against the sheer size of him. Rey idly wonders if he has to buy specially-made clothes or shop in those Big & Tall stores. He's got a pair of dark wash jeans on that hug his trim waist and muscular legs.

From what she can see of his face, he has a prominent nose and dark eyes that pierce right through her. She's pretty sure he can  _ see _ that she's pretending like everything going on in her life is fine with her when it isn't. He has a full mouth made for kissing and the barest hint of stubble around his chin. His face is a constellation of freckles and moles and his hair puts McDreamy's hair to shame, a fact she is going to have to tell Rose as soon as she gets home again because she forced Rey to watch every episode of Grey's Anatomy with her.

"Hi," she manages to squeak out. He just nods at her in response and Rey can't decide if she's mad about that or not.

Amilyn is talking about something - Rey's safety, she thinks vaguely - but she can't tear her eyes off of Mr. Solo. Which is embarrassing because he looks like he wants to be anywhere else but here. Like she's the least impressive thing he's ever had to protect before and honestly, he's probably right.

Rey knows she's not much to look at, what with her mousy brown hair, her spattering of freckles, and her lack of pretty much anything curvaceous. Probably the only reason she even won Galaxy Stars was because the judges couldn't see her initially to tell her no immediately, no matter how well she can sing.

"Alright, Rey. That's all I wanted to talk to you about today, did you have any questions?" Amilyn was asking and Rey has the good sense to turn her attention to her manager and smile.

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm good. Thanks, Amilyn." Rey feels her cheeks warm and hopes that she doesn't look like a cooked lobster.

"Great! In that case, I know Poe is waiting for you to go through the final touches on the album. Don't forget, the release party is next Friday and your single drops Wednesday." Rey nods as she stands on nervous legs. She tells herself it isn't because her new bodyguard is an extremely large and attractive man but just the fact that she has a bodyguard in the first place. How is she supposed to go on with her normal life with the giant man at her back all the time?

She only hopes that he doesn't interfere with her interacting with her fans. Otherwise she'll have an even bigger problem with this arrangement than she already does.

Ben has the door held open for her when she turns to leave Amilyn's office and Rey fights the urge to scowl at him. She can open her own damn doors, thank you very much. But she supposes this is her life now.

She already hates it.

Rey pulls her phone out of her pocket as they wait for the elevator, tapping out a quick text to Rose.

  


The elevator dings as the doors open and Rey sighs, ignoring her friends in favor of not making a fool of herself and tripping or doing  _ something _ stupid.

Rey walks on first, Ben at her back. He leans against the wall opposite her as she presses the button for the 10th floor, where the studio is.

"So um…" she starts, not really knowing  _ why  _ she says anything at all, beyond the reason that this feels awkward as  _ fuck _ and Rey has never done well with awkward. "How long have you done this?" She gestures vaguely with one hand. Ben has his arms crossed over his chest again and he had been looking at the floor before she opened her mouth. Now his eyes are on her and she can  _ feel _ his gaze like a lover's touch.

Well. That's awkward. It's probably just because of Rose's stupid question.

"You can pretend like I'm not even here if you want," he says instead of answering her. And, good lord, his voice is smooth as butter. Fuck.

But Rey bristles at his tone and huffs. "I was just trying to-"

"You don't have to. I'm just here to protect you. Not be your friend."

Rey decides that his personality is making him decidedly  _ less _ attractive by the second. Huffing again, Rey crosses her arms over her chest and turns her head to the doors, wishing it would just go  _ faster _ .

The doors open not a second too soon for Rey's liking and she darts out of the elevator onto the 10th floor, not bothering with another glance at the jerk of a bodyguard following dutifully behind her. She hates that she can feel him at her back. Hates that he's obviously slowing his stride because his legs are so freakishly long.

She finds the studio she usually uses, the one with 'Producer: Poe Dameron' on the door. Ben's hand appears over her shoulder as he pushes the door open for her and Rey has to fight the urge to roll her eyes at him.

She was excited to come and listen through her album with Poe. Okay, so she wasn't actually because hearing herself had always made her feel awkward, but Poe was nice and she considered him a friend. Now she just wants to go home and curl up on the couch with some ice cream. Or french fries. Or maybe both.

Poe turns his head to look at who's entering his studio, a grin wide on his face as he sees Rey walking in. 

"Hey Rey!" the man says, eyeing the dark figure of her new bodyguard looming in the doorway for a moment as his dark eyes flit around the studio quickly. "Ah. This must be your bodyguard?"

Rey glares at him as she flops down on the lounge along the same wall as the door. "You knew and you didn't warn me?" she asks. Both Poe and Ben's eyes land on her. Okay. Maybe her voice sounded a little whiny. It's just that this has been thrown on her without warning and Rey doesn't like surprises. At all.

Poe shrugs and turns to the mixing equipment in front of him. "How're Finn and Rose?" he asks instead. Rey sighs.

"They're fine. Rose's birthday is Sunday. Wanna come over? I think we're gonna go out to dinner for it?" Rey picks at the frayed fabric of one of the holes in her jeans. She can feel Ben's eyes on her and she swears, if he says  _ anything _ , she's going to punch him.

He stays silent. And that's  _ definitely _ for the best.

"Yeah, let me know where it'll be and I'll be there. Anything for Rose," Poe says with a smile over his shoulder at her. Rey smirks, shaking her head, because she knows that Rose isn't the actual reason that he wants to be there, but her  _ other _ best friend.

"Anyway. Ready to give a listen to some of these tracks?" His fingers glide over the mixing board as he fiddles with it and pulls up the tracks of her album. Rey nods and, again, tries her hardest to ignore the presence of Ben, leaning against the door with his arms crossed over his chest in what is apparently his normal state of being.

"Yeah, let's do it," she says with a nervous smile. Poe nods and hits play on the first track of her album, letting the music play through the sound system in this part of the studio.

It sounds weird, hearing the music on actual speakers instead of through the headphones she always wore while she was recording. It's even weirder, thinking about how it's  _ her _ voice coming through those speakers, singing the lyrics that she'd poured every ounce of her energy into.

It's easier if she closes her eyes, if she pretends her hardest that it  _ isn't  _ her voice coming through the speakers and filling the room. As if that's even possible.

She doesn't even want to look at Ben so much as wonder what he's thinking. He's probably just as unimpressed as she is quickly learning he must always be. But no. His opinion doesn't matter. It's like he said - he's just here to protect her, not like her music or anything about her.

When the song ends, she opens her eyes again and finds Poe with a smug smile on his face. "Told you it was good," he teases. She rolls her eyes at him for real this time and waves at him to play the next song he has ready for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To avoid mentions of sexual assault, please stop reading at "It's not her fault..." and skip down to "When the elevator doors open..." I'm also more than happy to tag anything else that needs to be tagged, just please let me know in the comments~
> 
> You can also find me on Twitter [@TrinRenWrites](http://twitter.com/trinrenwrites). c:


	2. Ben

Ben isn't happy about this new assignment, but he isn't exactly in a position to complain about it. He'd been removed from his last assignment for...personal reasons. Maybe he had punched someone to a point of...excess. That someone being his boss. Maybe not. Who knows. He's never going to tell.

The point is. He's now been hired on by one of his mother's friends at Resistance Records to protect another precious little pop star that was going to have her fifteen minutes of Fame and then be no one all over again. He knows how this Galaxy Stars shit works and they always act like these poor people will have some sort of a following after and that's not the case at all. They start out as nobodies, they end as nobodies.

And now Ben has to spend probably the next six months protecting the newest little pop star brat who's probably let all this shit get to her head in a big way. This is why he usually refuses these kinds of jobs, but, well, he doesn't exactly have a choice right now, does he?

Rey Niima is his new assignment and she's… Well, she's gorgeous. Which isn't an issue, really. Just means he'll have his work cut out for him, especially judging by the snippet of what Amilyn had told him about why he was needed in the first place. She also doesn't dress like any new pop star he's ever seen before.

But she's also mentioned some guy named Finn and someone named Rose twice in the fifteen minutes he's been around her. So maybe Finn is her husband or boyfriend or whatever and Rose is the kid and she's actually using the money she's been getting paid for useful shit or putting it away for Rose's schooling.

Fuck. Why does he care so much?

He doesn't. That's the point.

But she  _ is _ pretty. With sun-kissed skin and freckles all over her face. Big hazel eyes that are framed by long, sweeping lashes. She's not even wearing makeup, at least as far as he can tell. Not that he was looking very closely at her face at all… Her brown hair falls in light waves down to her shoulders and she's wearing a camisole under a grey cardigan and ripped up jeans and a pair of worn-out looking black VANS.

She's also annoyingly chipper, but he doesn't quite think it's genuine. Or maybe it is. She  _ is _ a pop star, after all.

Ben watches her out of the corner of his eye as she sways and nods along with the music that's playing through the speakers of the studio. Dameron has an annoying smug look on his face and Ben is just glad that the other man didn't mention anything about how they've known each other for a while now. Ben doesn't feel like explaining much of anything. At all. Ever.

Rey's music isn't bad, either. He doesn't think that they've done much to alter her natural voice, which is good, considering it's apparently what won her this position to begin with. But he's known plenty of others to opt for the enhancements on their voices, as if that'll make them more popular, make their fame last any longer.

It usually doesn't.

Her songs are good, too. Real. Raw. Just simple accompaniment that provides a good beat but doesn't drown out her voice. That's the real star of her music. And he thinks it's a good thing because she really does have a nice voice. Both when she sings and when she doesn't. When she speaks, her British accent is more pronounced but it's still there a bit in her music.

Ben sighs inwardly, shaking his head to get him out of his thoughts as the third song that Dameron has played for her comes to an end. Rey's hazel eyes flicker open and she glances over at him before her eyes find Dameron again. He thinks he sees something that tells him he isn't sure about this before he decides to ignore it.

He's just here to do his job. That's it.

They spend two and a half hours in the studio and Ben stays standing against the door, even though Rey has moved to sit in the chair at the mixer next to Dameron as they chatter on about whether or not to tweak things.

He's half asleep, drowning out their incessant chatter when Rey pushes away from the mixing table. "Okay. I need a break. I'm hungry, want anything, Poe?"

The man in question shakes his head and he's wearing the big studio headphones now with one ear off, as he listens to one of Rey's songs again. "Nah, I'm good. I have to get this final mix sent over to get finalized and submitted for release Wednesday." Ben only knows what some of that means and he doesn't really care.

"Are you sure? Have you eaten today? I can bring something back for you," Rey insists and Ben notes that there's a little crease in her forehead where her eyebrows draw together. She's definitely not like anyone else he's been hired to protect before. When was the last time he had heard any of his clients (who were always richer and in various states of fame) ask if one of their crew had eaten?

Poe waves her off with a laugh, though. "I'm fine, Rey, go eat and don't worry about me." Ben resists the urge to roll his eyes at the other man. He doesn't know what it is about Dameron, but he's always gotten under Ben's skin, ever since they were kids.

Maybe it was the way the natural charm and charisma the other man had, the easy way of just  _ being alive _ that he's always seemed to have.

Ben drags himself out of his thoughts by the neck as Rey turns to him, eyes flickering from the door he's leaning against to him. She has a look on her face that might be annoyance but he doesn't really know her well enough to say for sure.

Pushing himself into standing straight again, he rolls his shoulders a bit to stretch them out. Then he opens the door of the studio, giving a nod to Dameron and watching as Rey glides past him into the hallway.

"See ya next time, Solo," Poe calls after him and Ben ignores him. Ignores the confused look that Rey throws over her shoulder at him.

She walks fast for someone of her height and it isn't that she's short, he's just tall. He wonders briefly if she always walks this quickly or she's trying to prove that he doesn't  _ have _ to slow his stride for her sake. Honestly, he's probably reading too much into all of this. He's only known her a few hours, hardly enough time to actually guess what's going on in someone else's head.

Rey presses the button for the elevator and pulls out her phone again, fiddling with it instead of making conversation with him. Which is more than fine with Ben. He's used to being ignored unless he's needed.

"What's your schedule for the rest of the day look like?" he asks as the doors to the elevator slide open and they get in. He lets Rey push the button for the ground floor and ignores the look of wary surprise that is in her bright hazel eyes.

"Oh. Um...nothing, really. I'm done recording and I guess Poe is done with me for the day, so I don't have anything else planned." Ben nods. "I have interviews the rest of this week though, so I'll probably just go home and give you the rest of the day off." She shrugs, as if that's how any of this works and Ben wants to laugh. He doesn't think he's laughed in a good long  _ while - years,  _ even - but he almost does then.

"That's not how this works, Sweetheart," he tells her frankly. Her eyes flit to his in alarm, probably at the pet name, but maybe because of what he said.

Her pretty mouth opens and closes once. Twice. Before she clears her throat and sighs. "What does that mean, exactly?" she asks, probably because Ben isn't offering up any kind of an explanation to his statement. He resists the urge to roll his eyes.

"Were you even paying  _ any _ attention to what Holdo was saying?" Ben frowns at her. Rey's face turns sheepish as she looks away and steps off the elevator as soon as the doors open to the first floor of the building.

"Whatever. So what, you're gonna live with me now?" she asks tersely. It's almost like she's trying to walk quickly enough to the point he won't be able to follow her, but that's laughable because his legs are so much longer than hers and there's no way he's letting her out of his sight. He's not letting her get him fired and be the one who makes him lose his job...again.

"No. But I also don't just 'get the day off,'" he deadpans. She waves him off again and Ben can't decide if he's annoyed or not. He is. Definitely.

They push out of the doors to the building and are immediately met with a few fans, clamoring for Rey's attention. Ben doesn't know how he had missed the small group of fans waiting outside and it irks him. He immediately goes into work mode, using the bulk of his body to shield Rey from the onslaught of the mostly-women fans.

Rey huffs at him and shoves past him into the group of fans, a smile on her face that makes her eyes light up. Her whole face lights up, really, and it's not just from the sunny L.A. weather. "Rey," he admonishes, his voice authoritative.

With a wave of her hand, Rey ignores him. "It's fine, Ben, I have time," she tells him as she bends a little at the waist to pose for a selfie with a fan. There are nervous girls surrounding them and Ben's fists clench at his side as his eyes flit around them. This is so fucking unsafe and he wants very badly to drag Rey back inside the secured building. Or yell at everyone to clear the fuck out.

He's about to do just that when Rey turns to hand a cell phone to him. "Hey, take a picture for us, will you?" she asks in her chipper tone. Ben frowns, his brow pinching together as he looks at her, incredulous. She sighs at him, impatient. "Please?"

Ben rolls his eyes, holding his irritation in check  _ for now _ as Rey puts herself in the middle of two girls, both of whom have stars in their eyes. Ben's irritated and damn sure going to have a talk to her as soon as she's done with this foolishness.

Ben gives her five more minutes before he grabs her by the upper arm and pulls her back away from the growing gaggle of fans. "We're done here," he orders. She spins on him, frowning and glaring up at him.

"No we aren't. I haven't said hi to everyone," she growls back. Ben realizes why the fuck she's had trouble with fans before. How she got herself in the situation that got him hired in the first place. He glares back at her. Checks the Baume watch on his wrist.

"You have ten more minutes. And then we're leaving," he allows. Rey sighs and shrugs her arm out of his grasp, turning back to her fans and falling back into the flow of communicating with them again. It comes so...naturally to her and he doesn't know why it irritates him so much. Doesn't know why he's so irritated with the fact that she's so… blase about all of this. About her safety.

Ben keeps one eye on every person that approaches Rey and one on the full-black watch around his wrist. These are the  _ longest  _ ten minutes of his life, he swears. When it finally passes, he breathes a sigh of relief and waits for Rey to finish signing a fan's arm before he grabs her by the arm again.

"Alright, everyone. Miss Niima has to get going," he orders. No nonsense or question to his tone. He can practically hear Rey's eyes roll as she huffs and all of her fans seem to groan.

But she turns the charm on them and ushers apologies like she's practiced this a thousand times before and, judging by the way she had argued with him earlier, she has. Which makes Ben's skin crawl, thinking of her vulnerable like that.

He's definitely going to have a talk with Holdo later about why it took them so long to hire protection for her.

Ben starts to practically drag Rey down the sidewalk, even though he has no idea what she had planned on getting for lunch. She waves at the gathering of fans behind them, her face still lit up with that brilliant smile.

They round the corner and Ben forgets he's still holding onto her arm until she pulls it away from his grasp again. She glares up at him. "Why'd you have to be such a dick about that?" she hisses. Ben just levels a stare at her.

"That's not being a dick, that's protecting you," he deadpans. She huffs again and rolls her eyes and shifts on her feet and looks very much like she wants to turn and dart away from him in the opposite direction just to get him to leave her alone. "Where are we going to get food?" he asks instead of letting her fume more.

She sighs, tosses a hand through her hair, and then takes off down the sidewalk without looking back to see if he's following. Which he does, dutifully, of course.

"There's a little deli thing a couple blocks from here with good sandwiches," she throws over her shoulder. If she's surprised to find him  _ just _ behind her, she does a good job of hiding it. "I wasn't done talking to everyone, by the way. There were a few more. It wouldn't have taken long if you'd just fucking  _ let me, _ " she seethes.

Ben ignores her, shrugging. "It's not my job to let your fans overwhelm you and control your life."

Another huff of air from her lips. "Of course not," she grumbles. Ben glances at her before looking around them again. This isn't a bad area of town, but it's still L.A. and it's not exactly the safest city in the world. Far from it, actually.

He doesn't want to think about her wandering the streets of L.A. by herself for the last few months. Doesn't want to think about what easily could have happened to her, what Resistance is  _ lucky _ didn't happen to her because they were too shortsighted, too -

Ben's thoughts get distracted by Rey's thin fingers wrapping around his wrist beneath his watch to pull him into a little hole-in-the-wall deli.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! Thank you to everyone who's left kudos and comments so far as well, I really, really appreciate it! I'm hoping to update this every few days or at least once a week but don't have any set schedule right now. 💜
> 
> [Ben's watch (the black one)](https://images.app.goo.gl/cdSmYXzJ7RqbdFT68)
> 
> Find me on Twitter [@TrinRenWrites](http://twitter.com/TrinRenWrites)


	3. Rey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first of all, thank you all for your patience and your comments while i worked on this next chapter. i've been struggling with quarantine and mental health the last couple of weeks, so thanks for your patience. i've made a schedule for myself, though, and should be updating this fic every wednesday (hopefully)! 
> 
> second, there is a slight content warning for mention of sexual abuse & victim-blaming but it lasts for like 2 seconds, i promise.

Rey tries to hide her irritation over this whole thing, she _really_ does. But Ben had dragged her away from her fans and she doesn't want them to think she doesn't care about them. She's preoccupied by this as she shoves fresh-made chips into her mouth and ignores the presence of said offending bodyguard across the table from her.

Or tries to ignore him, anyway. He's a big man. Hard to ignore, really.

"How do you know Poe?" Rey asks when she's done with her chips. She rubs her fingers together over her plate to get rid of the salt on them before grabbing her sandwich. Ben looks away from the window to his left and to her, brow furrowing together.

"How do you know we know each other?" Rey bites her retort that answering a question with a question isn't an actual answer and shrugs.

"Well I didn't introduce you and he called you by name when we were leaving."

He watches her shove a bite of her turkey sandwich in her mouth before he nods. She doesn't know what it means.

"Ah. I wasn't sure you'd caught that." Rey gives him a look that asks if he thinks she's stupid and a corner of his mouth twitches just barely. "I've known Poe since I was a kid. Our parents are close and work together." He doesn't offer anything more than that and goes back to looking out the window, apparently deciding the people already in the little deli weren't a threat.

"So how does this work then?" Rey prods, because she can't stand the silence with him yet. They aren't comfortable, not the way she is around her two best friends. And she needs to _know_. Needs to know how much her freedom will be restricted. Wishes she'd had time to actually adjust to the idea of...whatever this involved.

Ben is slow to turn his attention back to her and when he does, there is the slightest upturn of his mouth again. "So you really _weren't_ paying attention to Holdo," he teases. Rey frowns and huffs and glares at him over her sandwich.

A long-suffering sigh leaves Ben as he leans back in his chair across from her, arms crossing over his broad chest. "I won't be living with you, but I'll basically be with you all day, every day. My job is to keep you safe, obviously. Assess threats. Get you out of them. Do crowd control if needed." A shrug falls off of his shoulders and Rey is struck again by just how bloody _broad_ he is.

Rey nods as she continues to eat. So it's not all bad. Or at least she hopes it won't be.

They fall into silence again until Rey is done eating. She grabs her phone off the table and scrolls through her notifications on social media. The pictures she'd taken with the fans from just a bit ago have already surfaced and Rey smiles to herself as she scrolls through and likes all that she can. It's not huge, but it's the little things, she thinks.

Then she opens up Twitter to tap out a quick message about her album. She still wanted to announce a giveaway for her album, but she still needed to get final approval from Jannah, the social media manager for the record label.

When she's done with that, Rey glances up at Ben through her lashes before she sighs. "Can I get your phone number?" she asks him. He glances over at her, brow furrowed sightly and she can't help it. She rolls her eyes. "So I can text you my address," she adds, as if he really should have realized that's what she wanted it for. 

That seems to catch him and he nods, grabbing his phone from his pocket and rattling off his number to her. She nods and sends him the address for the apartment she shares with Finn and Rose. Then she eyes his unfinished sandwich on the table and frowns.

"You gonna finish that?" she asks. Ben blinks at her, brow furrowing.

"Uh…no," he tells her, looking at her like she's grown another head. Rey ignores the look and reaches to slide his plate over to her. She has never been one to let food go to waste, not after the way she'd grown up with so little. Plus, she loves food. So she ignores the look Ben is giving her and shovels more food into her mouth. They fall into silence again and Rey tries to pretend like it doesn't bother her as she eats.

"Why do you live in one of the shittiest complexes in the city?" Ben huffs from across the table. She frowns, her attention going from the food to his face as he scowls at her.

Finishing the bite she'd just taken, Rey swallows and levels her gaze across at him. "Because I live with my two best friends and it's what we can afford together," she explains, as if it's the simplest thing in the world. Which it is, really. She doesn't get where he's coming from.

Ben blinks at her. "You realize you can afford living by yourself in a high rise downtown, right?" He says it slowly, as if Rey is an idiot. And that pisses her off more than anything and she glares at him.

"I don't _want_ to live by myself and I'm not going to force my friends to live somewhere they can't afford." Again. It's simple. Why doesn't he get that?

He glowers at her and Rey decides she's going to talk to Amilyn about his shitty attitude because there is no way she can keep dealing with him as her bodyguard. Even if he doesn't live with her, there is no way she can deal with his bullshit every other waking moment she has.

"The building is safe and Finn works from home so it's _fine."_ She insists. Ben opens his mouth to argue when Rey shoves away from the table and grabs both of their trays. "Whatever, just take the rest of the day off like I told you to and I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

Ben gets up and follows her, keeping a few feet's distance from her as she returns the trays to the proper place and throws the trash away for them both.

"Already told you I can't do that, sweetheart. I'll walk you to your car and then follow you to your apartment and go over the security of it myself." His tone brooked no argument and Rey rolled her eyes.

"Okay well that's why I texted you my address, so you can meet me there when my Uber gets here." Rey was in the process of ordering it as they stepped outside of the deli. Fingers flitting over her phone screen, she ignores the scoff that Ben makes behind her.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Why the fuck are you taking a goddamn _Uber_ everywhere?" His voice is growing in volume and people across the street are glancing over at them and Rey frowns. She spins on him, her hands curling into fists around her phone.

"Because it's cheaper than paying for parking in this fucking city and I hate driving," she seethes back. But she's quickly learning that the explanations she provides, for all that everything seems so simple to her, are not good enough for Ben Solo. Because he scoffs again and looks at her like she's an idiot.

Rey doesn't know what pisses her off more.

"I will drive you home," he tells her. "And you are _not_ taking another fucking Uber to or from anywhere. Does Amilyn know any of this?" he growls at her and Rey lifts her upper lip in a snarl back at him.

"You can't tell me what to fucking do!" she growls back. Ben peers down at her again for a second and then sighs, shaking his head as he grabs her by the bicep and starts storming down the sidewalk back to Resistance Records.

Rey fights his grip, snarling and spitting curses at him as he drags her along the sidewalk.

"Your safety is my fucking job, Miss Niima," he growls at her. Nothing about your life is very fucking safe, it's no wonder you were fucking molested," Ben throws at her when they get to the parking garage. "I genuinely cannot believe you've been in this fucking city for months and haven't been fucking killed yet."

He's mad, she can tell, and she supposes it's on her behalf but she's so caught up on the fact that he basically said it was her fault that she'd been assaulted that her blood runs cold. Ripping her arm out of his grip, Rey balls her fists even tighter and gives him her most biting glare.

"I can take care of myself, you giant _fucking_ asshole," she all but yells at him. "It was _not_ my fault." He's turned around to look down at her now, his face filled with some emotion she's not going to look too far into it. It's the first time that she's said that what happened to her wasn't her fault out loud and the words drop like a lead stone in her stomach. But she feels the truth of them in the way her shoulders straighten as she tries to make herself as tall as possible against this giant of a man.

Ben nods slowly. "I didn't mean it like that," he told her, his deep voice soft and even compared to hers. Part of her wants him to yell back at her, but there's a larger part of her that is glad he doesn't. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Rey eyes him for a second before she nods stiffly. Ben sighs and cards a hand through his hair, shifting on his feet awkwardly.

"I only meant you should have had security on you _before_ any of this happened. It's not your fault, it's your stupid manager's-"

"It's not Amilyn's fault either," she seethes. Ben blinks at her and shakes his head.

"Yeah. Well. Whatever." Rey narrows her eyes at the way he so easily dismisses the argument they were having and she has to bite back a scathing retort against him as he turns and motions to a shiny blacked out Audi.

"Of _course_ you drive a fucking Audi…" she mutters to herself. If Ben hears her comment, he doesn't say anything thank fuck. Because she's not in the mood to deal with him anymore. She wants to go home and take a bath and curl up in bed and not do anything for the rest of the day.

The engine purrs to life as Rey closes the passenger side door behind her and she does everything in her power to ignore her stupid security guard a she drives them to her home. She fiddles with her phone in her hands as she watches Los Angeles slide by out the window in a mess of traffic.

It takes them almost forty minutes to get to her apartment and she spends that time scrolling through Twitter and Instagram, continuing to like the selfies that she took with the fans in front of Resistance Records. She sees a few tweets asking about the mysterious and brooding mountain that had dragged her away from their impromptu meet and greet and ignores them.

She's climbing out of the passenger side of the car before Ben even cuts the engine. It's felt stuffy in the car the whole ride over and she needs to breathe the barely-fresh air that L.A. provides before she suffocates. Ben is climbing after her, a frown on his face that she ignores.

"Thanks," she tells him because she is nothing if not polite. He ignores her and gestures to the building before then. It's not a huge apartment building, only three stories and with only six units in it. It feels like she can feel Ben's judgement as she leads him to the apartment on the bottom right.

She's pretty sure she can hear his teeth grinding from her position in front of him and when she turns to look at him over her shoulder as she's unlocking the front door, he's glaring at the surroundings.

She pushes the door open to find Finn sitting on the used couch they thrifted from a little shop a few blocks away. He's got his laptop in his lap and he looks over at her with a grin that falters when he sees the giant man looming menacingly behind her.

"Hey, Finn. This is Ben, my new bodyguard," she introduces with barely withheld sarcasm. The two men size each other up before Ben goes back to surveying the apartment. It isn't the nicest apartment, but it's not a piece of shit, either, for all that it isn't in the greatest neighbourhood.

Finn waves stiffly from the couch and Rey goes to the kitchen to get a glass of water and leaves Ben to snoop around. He stalks around the three-bedroom apartment, inspecting the windows and locks everywhere. Rey chooses to ignore him, finding that she's more annoyed than anything and it's easier if she just pretends like he isn't here.

"I'm going to go take a shower," she tells no one as she goes back to her bedroom to grab some clothes to change into. Ben turns from his inspection of the locks on the living room windows to nod stiffly. She can tell from the look in his eyes that he doesn't like where she's living. But tough shit because she's not going to fucking move.

Rey hates moving to begin with, but she sure as shit isn't just going to pack up and move just because some macho man that thinks he's in charge of her doesn't like it. Rey couldn't care less what he likes or doesn't like.

When she's done with her shower, she comes out to find Ben leaning against the kitchen wall with his arms crossed and glaring across the room at Finn, who's glaring right back. She's wringing her hair with a towel and she pauses in the hallway and glances between the two of them.

"Oh good, I wanted to walk in on a male stand-off," she deadpans. Finn whips his head around to her and at least has the decency to look sheepish and repentant. She doesn't know what happened in the twenty minutes she was in the shower and she's not sure she wants to.

Ben turns to look at her with a blank expression. "I was just telling Finn that you really need to move out of this shit hole. It's a break-in waiting to happen," he says. Rey rolls her eyes and turns to go into her room. She's had enough of him deciding what she needs, even if it is his job to keep her safe.

The door opens before she can retreat to her room and she sees Ben stiffen immediately, a glare making his face look even harsher than it already does as Rose breezes into the apartment. She pauses at the sight of Ben glaring at her, but she grins at him in the easy way she always has.

"You the bodyguard?" Rose quips, happy and bubbly. Ben nods stiffly and Rey sighs.

"Rose, this is Ben. Ben, Rose." Rose waves a little and goes to flop down on the couch next to Finn, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"You can leave now," she tells Ben as he watches her two best friends warily. He glances over at her and narrows his eyes, opening his mouth. "I'm not going anywhere else today and I just want to go lay down. I have a headache." Not exactly a lie, but definitely not the truth either.

Ben hesitates before he sighs and nods. "Fine. Text me your schedule for the rest of the week. I'll pick you up in the morning."

Before Rey can say anything else, he's storming out the front door and pulling it closed a little aggressively. Rey rolls her eyes at the closed door and groans.

"He seems nice," Rose quips from the couch. Finn snorts and grumbles something about how he's an asshole and Rey is definitely inclined to agree with him right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!
> 
> you can find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/trinrenwrites)


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